Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Price Target Raised to $65.00

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $61.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on CNQ. Desjardins cut Canadian Natural Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Evercore lowered Canadian Natural Resources from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Canadian Natural Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research lowered Canadian Natural Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $35.00 price target on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Canadian Natural Resources currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 2.4%

Canadian Natural Resources stock opened at $46.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.15. The firm has a market cap of $96.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.62. Canadian Natural Resources has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $46.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.06. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 20th. Canadian Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Institutional Trading of Canadian Natural Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 146,331,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,956,204,000 after purchasing an additional 35,067,143 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 93,305,198 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,160,340,000 after purchasing an additional 818,809 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 4.5% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,939,585 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,505,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051,714 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 10.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,359,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $855,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,518,621 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $710,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Canadian Natural Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Canadian Natural Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat, record production and dividend bump — CNQ beat consensus EPS and revenue, reported record production (~1.66 mmboe/d), and raised the quarterly dividend ~6.4%, signaling strong cash generation and a shareholder‑friendly stance. Canadian Natural: Huge Gains, Dividend Increase, Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/target lift — RBC Capital raised its price target to $65 and kept an Outperform rating, implying meaningful upside versus current levels and likely supporting the rally. RBC price target raise (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Oil price tailwind — WTI above $75 amid geopolitical tensions, which benefits CNQ’s North American production profile and helps near‑term cash flow. Oil Prices Above $75 (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings detail & mixed metrics — official releases and transcripts confirm the beat, higher revenue and stronger operating cash flow, but operating profit and EPS were down YoY in some disclosures, creating a more nuanced profitability picture. Q4 results (Newsfile)
• Neutral Sentiment: Call/transcript available — The Q4 earnings call transcript and materials provide management color on production, capital spending and the updated capital allocation framework for investors doing deeper diligence. Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Pause of $8.25B oil‑sands expansion — Management paused a major oil‑sands expansion, citing carbon‑policy uncertainty; this could limit future growth optionality and highlights regulatory/transition risk for the company’s heavier assets. Pause of oil-sands expansion (Globe & Mail)

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE: CNQ) is a Calgary-based independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Established in the early 1970s and publicly listed in Canada and the United States, the company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its asset base spans conventional and unconventional reservoirs and includes oil sands mining and in-situ thermal projects, midstream processing and upgrading capacity, and related field operations.

The company’s operations are concentrated in Western Canada, where it develops heavy crude, bitumen from oil sands and conventional light crude and natural gas resources.